Congressional Progressive Staff Association Statement on Supreme Court Draft Opinion to Overturn Roe, Rip Away Safe Health Care from Millions of Americans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

MAY 3, 2022
Email Contact: CPSA.info@mail.house.gov 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Congressional Progressive Staff Association, which represents over 1,000 staffers currently working on Capitol Hill, released the following statement in response to last night’s Supreme Court draft majority opinion to overturn Roe vs. Wade and millions of American’s right to an abortion.

“In a dramatic escalation of the extreme right’s war to eliminate civil rights and  decimate personal liberties, congressional staff and the American people are now facing the dystopian reality of life without guaranteed access to safe and legal abortions. 

“Working Americans are already struggling to pay their bills under rising costs – including 40 percent of congressional staffers who are living paycheck to paycheck. This draft decision further diminishes the public’s ability to make the life-changing economic and health care decisions that will impact the rest of their lives. 

“While the Court’s final decision remains to be seen, the draft majority opinion offers a clear and urgent warning of a full-fledged assault against birthing people, especially those who are low-income and people of color—the same people who face the most barriers to working in Congress. 

“Rolling back federal constitutional protections for abortion will only serve to make it far more dangerous for people seeking care. Research shows that criminalizing abortion not only fails in its purported goal to ‘protect life,’ but actually leads to an uptick in deaths associated with illicit procedures carried out in unsafe conditions. 

“The draft opinion marks a stunning reversal in ideological jurisprudence over the past 50 years. When Roe vs Wade was decided in 1973, five Republican appointees joined two justices nominated by Democratic presidents to enshrine the right to abortion. This draft opinion forces extreme and unpopular opinions onto a nation that overwhelmingly approves of Roe and safe access to abortions. 

“The draft opinion is an ominous sign of what is to come from the current far-right bench. Supporters of marriage equality and access to contraception should recognize this draft opinion for what it is: a threatening assault on hard-won constitutional protections for millions of Americans.

“For congressional staff and Americans across the country, this devastating attack on our ability to keep ourselves healthy and safe will only further damage our ability to survive in an increasingly unequal society. 

“The Congressional Progressive Staff Association believes that the progressive movement can and must be an antidote to the authoritarian and theocratic ideology poisoning Congress, the Supreme Court and our society. When we unite to fight for shared liberation, we can rejuvenate and energize people young and old, from all walks of life, and from all faiths to stand up and make their voices heard.

“We cannot and will not go back. We must come together to defend the people’s right to choose. Congress must act to codify the right to an abortion and permanently protect our reproductive freedoms.”